A local non-profit is celebrating four decades of helping women and children facing family violence. Wings Safe Housing and Support marked its 40th anniversary on Thursday. The organization, also known as Wings of Hope, has served more than 6,000 women and children since opening in 1986. According to Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network, family violence is a key pathway to homelessness for women and girls and almost 700 women, and more than 230 children, are turned away from domestic violence shelters in Canada every day. Wings executive director Candace Smallwood said the organization was the first longer-term shelter for women in Edmonton, recognizing that safety risks don’t disappear after a few days. “It’s amazing to see the difference that longer-term time gives … that ability to heal, to really start to rebuild those life skills, to become more independent and self-sufficient, and most importantly, safe for the future.” Wings operates 50 fully-furnished apartments where families can be safe while accessing the wrap-around support, like case management and safety planning, they need to move forward. “To be able to see the resiliency of the children and the mothers, and just see when they come here, how they can start to breathe again and feel safe … I can’t even explain it,” Smallwood said. “I feel really honoured to be able to do this work.” Smallwood said the next 40 years for Wings look “bright.” “We’re working hard to be able to support more people, so looking at more opportunities for community support and support outside of the shelter, if it’s safe to do so,” she said. “We know in Alberta, at this time, there aren’t enough shelter spaces, and so really making sure that support is individualised for each family based on what they need and preserving these shelter spaces for folks that are most at risk.” There are two emergency women’s shelters in Edmonton. Aside from Wings, there is only one other second-stage housing group for women. The last available data from the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters shows that in 2023-2024, the number of families being turned away from shelters due to lack of space was on the rise with 18,868 adults and 12,380 children turned away.
